McKinney ISD approves hiring additional SROs, special education teachers in FY 2018-19 budget

Editor's note: This article has been updated to explain metric staffing, which is staffing generated from the district's standard staffing metrics. The McKinney ISD board of trustees approved the fiscal year 2018-19 budget during a meeting Tuesday night. The approximately $234.25 million general fund budget includes nearly $1.11 million for metric and additional staffing, which is staffing generated from the district's standard staffing metrics and additional staffing not based on metrics but on district need. The budget also included $5.3 million for teacher and staff pay raises. The board also approved to decrease the 2018-19 tax rate by $0.03 bringing the tax rate to $1.59 per $100 property valuation as compared to $1.62 per $100 property valuation paid during the 2017-18 year. The budget, which was approved unanimously, includes the hiring of 29 additional staff members including:

• five dyslexia teachers;
• 10 special education teachers;
• five secondary 504 para-professionals;
• three nurse aides;
• one security position;
• two school resource officers, or SROs; and
• three individuals maximizing positive advocacy for children and teens, or IMPACT counselors.

The two new SROs, which are officers that patrol campus hallways, will be placed at elementary schools. Each SRO would likely have designated schools to monitor, respond to those campuses as needed and have a set schedule for visiting schools in their territory, said Cody Cunningham, chief communications and support services officer at MISD. Before hiring the SROs, the city of McKinney must approve its FY 2018-19 budget, which will take place in September. SROs are McKinney Police Department officers who have specific training working in schools. The district and city split the cost for the SROs, so the city has to agree, Cunningham said in a previous interview. The board will approve the hiring of three IMPACT counselors at a later date through personnel recommendations. Once approved, one of the three IMPACT counselors, or crisis counselors, will be placed at each high school within the district, Cunningham said. This would bring the total number of IMPACT counselors to two per high school. During a meeting in April, the board also approved increasing the starting salary from $52,350 per year to $53,850 per year for teachers with no experience.